Cuomo on NTSB Report Criticizing MTA

When asked for his reaction to a recent series of reports by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) harshly criticizing the MTA, Governor Cuomo said only that he has “not gone through it in detail” and that his “team is looking at it”. As governor Cuomo effectively controls the MTA, although other elected officials also appoint MTA board members.

On Tuesday the NTSB released reports on five MTA accidents, with the NTSB chairman issuing a statement that “[s]eeing this pattern of safety issues in a single railroad is troubling. The NTSB has made numerous recommendations to the railroad and the regulator that could have prevented or mitigated these accidents. But recommendations can only make a difference if the recipients of our recommendations act on them.” Senator Charles Schumer is reported as saying that the NTSB “report represents a horror house of negligence.”